The food business is considered one of the most reliable and promising. Despite the relevance of high technology and the development of service industries, natural products are still in high demand. Another thing is that working with food requires greater responsibility in terms of organizing the economy. But this is an advantage for beginners. The fact is that many areas seem inaccessible, too risky and complex, although in practice everything turns out differently. In turn, breeding sturgeon at home as a business is a rather profitable line of business, although due to external difficulties in arranging and technical organization of fisheries as such, many entrepreneurs are not considering this area at all. In fact, not so much effort is required, and in most cases the result justifies all the investments. To understand the benefits of such an enterprise, it is worth starting to consider its features.
Features and advantages of the sturgeon business
Breeding fish initially gives the owner several advantages. First of all, this is low competition, at least in the case of sturgeon. The fish business itself is specific, and the premium species are on the sidelines of the main lines of business. Further, it is worth noting the low level of investment at the initial stage. Although the sturgeon does not belong to cheap fish, its breeding is not as expensive as it might seem to an inexperienced entrepreneur. Of course, it is not easy to achieve noticeable success without knowledge in this area, but literature on breeding sturgeon at home is now available in a wide range, so the subtleties on this topic can be mastered in the shortest possible time. In addition, much is learned from experience and in 1-2 years there will be no need for additional sources of knowledge.
In terms of compatibility with home conditions, this fish is not ideal, but its content is quite acceptable. Owners have to pay 3-4 hours a day to maintain such farms, and up to 15 hours during sorting periods. That is, this is not the most labor-intensive business and it can be combined with other work.
Home sturgeon breeding technology
Work begins with the organization of the site where the activities will be carried out. Technical arrangement of the place is being carried out - tanks and related equipment are being installed to maintain the economy. Then you can move on to the main part when the fry are purchased and the development of future products begins. Depending on the format in which the activity is conducted, breeding sturgeon at home may also require special documentation. At the final stage, an equally responsible procedure begins - the sale of fish. It is best to agree in advance with customers about the sale of sturgeon products and draw up a logistic supply plan.
Place for fish farming
Initially, it is worth considering the possibility of expanding the business outside the home. If there are modest opportunities for the primary organization of the economy, you can use a room in an apartment or in a separate house for these purposes, which is even better. The minimum size of the area is 30 m2. But it is much more important to provide communication supplies so that sturgeon breeding at home is as efficient and productive as possible.Water supply must be brought in without fail, electrical supply systems are laid, as well as heating, sewage and ventilation. It is advisable that the mains provide for the possibility of working from an autonomous power source in case there are problems with the central power supply.
Technical equipment
Sturgeon is not particularly moody in terms of living conditions. To maintain it, you can use plastic mini-pools or similar containers, the depth of which does not exceed 1 m, and a diameter of up to 3 m. The main thing is that the material of manufacture is not rubber. However, for full-fledged fish farming, tanks alone are not enough. It is necessary to provide for special equipment that will provide aeration, filtering and cleaning containers from pollution. But first of all, it is necessary to provide a pump that will pump water. Then, for carrying out fine and rough cleaning, it is necessary to provide containers with sterilizers and filters. The best equipment for breeding sturgeon at home is equipped with automatic devices for determining the composition of water and its condition. But you can also purchase individual measuring instruments that will allow you to assess the level of water hardness and its temperature. In addition, oxygen generators and special equipment will be required to facilitate daily fish care. In particular, it would be useful to provide for the presence of several nets, buckets, as well as scales, containers and special clothes on the farm.
Sturgeon fry
At first, you should focus on the purchase of fry from other representatives of the industry. Large farms sell fry at wholesale prices, so this expense item will not bring significant costs. It is important to initially select a quality supplier who will supply the household with fry with a safe gene pool. As a rule, breeding sturgeon at home begins with five-gram fry. Then the fish is grown up to 600-700 g and goes on sale. You can, of course, not stop the growth of sturgeon, but there is no point in this, since in the restaurant business the marketable weight of fish just corresponds to 600 g.
In the future, it will be possible to consider the possibility of equipping the economy with fish incubators. This step can be called a transition to a new level. The owners of such farms independently grow fry from caviar, which is also produced as part of their own enterprise. This not only reduces the cost of purchasing primary "raw materials", but also allows you to earn money from other market newcomers by selling them the same fry.
Conditions of detention
As farms grow, they should be more careful about fish needs. The better the conditions, the healthier the sturgeon will be. In the process of its development, capacity requirements are changing. If at first you can do with the simplest tanks, then in the future you will have to use special containers, focusing on the size of the occupant. For example, for individuals weighing less than 300 g use a small pool with a round shape. These are products with a depth of about 80 cm and a diameter of 150 cm. Fish weighing 0.3 to 2 kg are placed in round tanks with a depth of 120 cm and a diameter of about 220 cm. A sorting container should also be provided. In such containers it will be possible to contain the same fry weighing up to 5 g. For sorting, special rectangular trays should be provided. Regardless of the capacities, sturgeon cultivation at home should occur at the optimum temperature. For sturgeon, a favorable temperature range is considered to be from 2 to 27 ° C. In the period of active growth and general development, it is desirable to bring these boundaries to the limits of 17–22 ° C. This temperature helps to approximate the process of spawning in females, which begins already from the age of six.
Fish feeding
For feeding special automatic devices should be provided. In general, sturgeons are not picky in terms of nutrition, but to get good offspring you should not save on food. The rate of increase in live weight of fish directly depends on the quality of the feed. The choice of products for feeding should take into account the presence of crude fat, fiber, phosphorus, lysine, protein and other useful trace elements that require sturgeon breeding at home. How to feed fish - this issue is decided individually depending on financial capabilities, but the main thing is that the food is heavy and flavorful enough. The fact is that in natural conditions sturgeon eats directly from the bottom of the lake and focuses on its sense of smell.
Where and how to sell fish?
The final stage in the process of fisheries is the direct implementation of the product. In this case, it is a live sturgeon, which today is gladly bought by hypermarkets, specialized fish shops and, of course, catering establishments with restaurants. By the way, one copy can cost about 1 thousand rubles. Accordingly, breeding sturgeon at home for sale can be a very profitable business. But it is very important to initially calculate the opportunities and channels for the sale of the product, as well as negotiate with partners the delivery and financial calculation formats.
Positive business reviews
This is not to say that this type of activity is devoid of technical difficulties associated with the daily duties of the owner, but many entrepreneurs note the autonomy of the farms. Thanks to automatic feeding systems, adjusting the water temperature and filtering, there is no need to carefully maintain order in the content of fish. But, of course, in the early stages of such freedom from work is out of the question. There are other features of sturgeon breeding at home, which are a plus for this kind of business. For example, a low level of competition, which is reflected in the form of considerable income. Private entrepreneurs directly negotiate with the same restaurants, covering with their economy several establishments at a time.
Negative reviews
Negative aspects of managing such farms, as a rule, are associated with high risks of loss-taking. The death of fry, diseases, lack of demand in small towns and the need to obtain approval from veterinarians and the sanitary and epidemiological station are only part of the problems that fisheries owners face. And this is not to mention the costs, without which it is impossible to organize sturgeon breeding at home for the purpose of subsequent sale. Again, in relation to primary investments, this is not the worst type of entrepreneurial activity, but in order to obtain high financial returns, expenses may increase in the future.
Conclusion
People who have ever seen sturgeons in natural habitats, it is not easy to believe in the possibility of growing such fish at home. Especially in the plastic pool. Nevertheless, such farms are quite common and many of them thrive. If you initially calculate the correct approach to feeding and cleaning water, then breeding sturgeon at home as a business will become a reality. It will also be useful to foresee opportunities for future expansion of the enterprise. There are frequent cases when, after 2-3 years, entrepreneurs decide to transfer farms to natural reservoirs. Accordingly, the volume of fish production is also growing. Along with this, the opportunities for selling sturgeon should be evaluated, otherwise you can be left without channels of constant marketing.
